Our Lager, which art in taverns...

If you're keeping score at home, we've covered a trio of wines from Spain (tempranillo) and Australia (shiraz-grenache and shiraz-cab. sauv.). On Sunday, we also had a tasting of beers.

Now, I don't know if everyone out there is as much of a beer fan as I am. I am a fan of beer: lagers, pilsners, hefe-weizens, dunkels, porters, stouts, and ales of all pales. Now, I must admit that when it comes to beer, I have no shortage on words, so I will attempt to keep my notorious long-winded-ness to a minimum. First, let me go over the beers we tried on Sunday's tasting.

Boulevard Pilsner
100% malt

NOTE: So from what I understand, Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Michelob have all been making specialty beers lately in an effort to get a little bit of the craft beer business. With the cropping up of local breweries, the big beer companies realized that there is a growing market of discerning beer drinkers. Wanting a slice of the pie, they started crafting specialty beers like Landshark, American Ale, Shock Top, and Michelob's wheat series.

Boulevard Brewery out of Kansas City, founded in 1989, has been making moves to capitalize on their growth from the popularity of their dynamite Pale Ale, an exceptional Double Wide IPA (served in a champagne bottle), and their claim to fame, Boulevard Wheat. In response to encroaching businesses, Boulevard took a tip from the big boys by releasing a 100% malt beverage that sells right along side Budweiser and Coors... at the exact same price. If this story is not enough to pique your curiosity about this tasty toasty pils, let me assure you that this beer has subtle malt notes that smooth out to caramel, with character that keeps the flavors clean and very drinkable. All in all, I was impressed with the flavor of this beer, especially given the price.

Schlafly's Summer Beer
Lager

This crisp refreshing Summer beer comes from a brewery more noted for their stouts than their lagers, but the flavors are dead on, here. This beer is very clean, not too lemony, and surprisingly drinkable. Very few bottled beers remind me of the summer I spent drinking strip-n-go-naked's in Madison, WI, with my sister, and this beer did just that. Only this time, I didn't get hammered and pass out in Rodney's back yard. This beer doesn't have the kick that a lot of summer drinks have, which makes it ideal for cooling off after weeding, watering, and repotting the herbs on my balcony -- again.

And that's it! We now have 3 red wines and 2 beers sampled, so far. Make sure to check back in once every now and then to see what to try next. And, of course, if you have anything you want to share, feel free to stop by at Harper Corner Liquor Store.